Armchair Theatre: Afternoon of a Nymph (1962)

Armchair Theatre was a drama anthology series of single plays, produced by Associated British Corporation (ABC) (and later by Thames Television), which ran in the UK on the ITV channel on Sunday nights from 1956 to 1974. 

Jocelyn (as Jackie Lane) appeared in an episode called Afternoon of a Nymph, which was shot in black and white and originally aired on September 30, 1962.  In that episode, the viewer follows a day in the life of a young starlet named Elaine (Janet Munro).  She lives with her parents, and her mother frets about her activities as she gets ready to go out for "meetings."  Elaine spins it all to her mother as a chance at a glamorous career.  

Elaine meets her agent at a restaurant where the starlets and entertainment brass hang out.  Immediately, we get the sense that this is a sleazy business.  One of the starlets, Ginger (Jocelyn), is hanging out at the bar, and we learn that she is considered a trashy starlet that will do anything to play the entertainment game.  Elaine considers herself to be above all of that, but her agent encourages her to go to a party that night to rub elbows with important people.

We follow Elaine as she goes to a set to film what appears to be a production of Romeo and Juliet.  However, it turns out to be a candy commercial.  The director of the commercial, David (Ian Hendry, who would marry Munro the following year) comes on to Elaine, and they have a lot of back-and-forth about the business and how hard she wants to make it.

The episode concludes at the party that night, where we see how superficial everyone can be and how the desperate starlets are used and discarded, eating away at their souls.  It turns out that Ginger is a lesbian, as she comes-on to Elaine in the powder room.  Ultimately, the 58-minute story is a depressing look at the sleaziness and superficiality of the entertainment industry in regard to young starlets, showing how it can eat at their souls and sense of self-worth.  My guess is that it was considered quite daring for British TV in that era.

I have not watched any other episodes of the series, but Afternoon of a Nymph is not recommended viewing in my book (For a more interesting take on a theme like this, I recommend the 1965 Italian film Io la conoscevo bene, starring Stefania Sandrelli.).  The series is shot on whatever the equivalent of tape was at the time, not on film, so it has the look of an old soap opera.  Jocelyn is far and away the prettiest female in the cast, besting Munro and April Wilding (as a blonde, Marilyn-Monroe-type starlet).  Realistically, though, Jocelyn probably did not have the dramatic acting range to play the part of Elaine.  Munro (best remembered for Darby O'Gill and the Little People and Swiss Family Robinson) was probably more suited for that part.  As Ginger, Jocelyn does an adequate job, with a slight British accent that is much easier for me to understand than the thick accent of many of the other cast members.  Her brunette hairstyle is similar to that shown in pictures from Operation Snatch.  

I am yet again puzzled as to why Jocelyn was appearing in small roles in productions like this.  Why were producers not keeping her busy with more substantial big screen roles that played to her strong points?  Unless you are a fan of classic British television or a Jocelyn Lane completist, you haven't missed much, if you do not get around to watching Afternoon of a Nymph.

Afternoon of a Nymph is one of the episodes included in an Armchair Theatre DVD release in the UK in 2012.

In addition to the pictures at the top of this post, here are a few captures to give you an idea about Jocelyn's appearance in this production.

Finally, here is some interesting back-story.  This episode was written by Robert Muller, who had written a book published in 1958 called Cinderella Nightingale, which was a "sizzling, up-to-the-minute close-up of the amoral machine that turns a beautiful body into big business" that mirrored the theme in Afternoon of a Nymph.  Although Diana Dors or Carole Lesley were said by some to be the real inspiration for the book, he was sued by a British starlet called Sabrina (real name Norma Ann Sykes), who claimed that the book was clearly based on her and had libeled her and her father.  Sabrina won her lawsuit, got an apology from Muller, got copies of the book withdrawn from sale, and derailed a planned film production of the book that was to star Carole Lesley. Sabrina agreed that the book could be republished with offending passages removed, so it was released again in 1962 (the year that Afternoon of a Nymph aired).

Not only did Muller employ the book's theme in Afternoon of a Nymph, he also employed it in the script that he co-wrote with Val Guest for The Beauty Jungle (aka Contest Girl) released in 1964, starring Janette Scott and Ian Hendry.

Le sette folgori di Assur (1962)

Italian Locandina

Le sette folgori di Assur (aka War Gods of Babylon), directed in color by Silvio Amadio, is another sword-and-sandal epic for Jocelyn, shot in Italy at a time when those films were very popular.  The film starts with a village being raided and destroyed with Mirra (Jocelyn, as Jackie Lane) being one of the few survivors.  Her father was killed in the attack.  A seer named Zoroastro (Arnoldo Foa) takes her to Ninevah, which is ruled by King Sardanapolo (Howard Duff).  Sardanapolo's nephew, Sammash (Luciano Marin), falls madly in love with Mirra at first sight.  Sammash is named King of Babylon by his brother, as Babylon is controlled by the Assyrians of Ninevah, and he intends for the beautiful Mirra to be his queen.  Complications ensue, however, when Sammash learns that Sardanapolo and Mirra are in love with each other.

Sammash goes to Babylon with Mirra, intending to exact revenge on his brother for stealing Mirra's love from him.   The generals of Babylon, however, view Sammash as weak, and one of them, Arbace (Giancarlo Sbragia), plots against both Sammash and Sardanapolo.  Sammash goes ahead with one party moving to attack Ninevah, while the other generals are gathering their forces.  Arbace arranges for the soldiers in the party to kill Sammash, behead him, and send the head to Sardanapolo in Ninevah.  He also arranges for a note to be returned to Babylon with the body, indicating that Sardanapolo has committed the murder, which enrages the forces of Babylon.  Now, Arbace has both sides swearing to exact revenge on the other over the death of Sammash.  

The final portion of the film plays out as the two warring armies battle it out.  Mirra returns to Ninevah to take revenge on Sardanapolo but learns of the deception and is reunited with him.  Ultimately, the gods take their revenge on Sardanapolo and Ninevah for having been ignored, as the waters of the Tigris River rise in a flash flood to destroy the city.  Sardanapolo and Mirra perish together, arm in arm.

As I've said before, the Italian sword-and-sandal epics are not my cup of tea, although I am very fond of Italian cinema of the 1960's and 1970's.  At just under 88 minutes, this one doesn't overstay its welcome, and the battle scenes are well-done.  Those scenes, along with a number of other scenes, have many extras, horses, etc. to give the film somewhat of an "epic" feel.  The flooding sequence in Ninevah is well done for the time, even though a few of the shots have special effects that are not well done and look particularly hokey.  A couple of shots where rooms in the city suddenly fill up while people are in them, stand out as being really well done.

Amadio would go on to a respectable directorial output in Italy over the next twenty years, including the giallos Amuck and Smile Before Death at the height of that genre.  I am not familiar with the work of the Italian actors in the film, though all seem to give decent, if not exceptional performances.  Mireille Darc is listed in the opening credits, although I did not spot her in the film, nor does IMDB show her as being among the cast.  Darc, went on to have a successful career in the 1960's and 1970's, mostly in her native France.   Duff, an American actor, is a familiar face to U.S. viewers, as he had a long and successful career on TV in America.  People of my generation probably remember him most from the TV show Flamingo Road that ran from 1980 to 1982.

As for our girl, Jocelyn, this was another opportunity for her to get some good experience and a lot of screen time in an Italian film that would likely be screened in some English-speaking countries.  The actors clearly mouthed their lines in English (at least most of them did), but I would not swear that Jocelyn did her own English dubbing.  Most of the time, it does not sound like her to me.  The voice sounds a bit too high-pitched, but I could be wrong.  Finding information about the voice dubbing in Italian films is difficult, at best.  Yet again, Jocelyn is the most attractive female in the cast, and her hair is full-on red this time (and long).  Her skin looks fairer than normal, downright pale at times compared to the other actors.  I think that she gave a good performance and fit the role well.  A couple of thoughts that I had while watching this movie:

First, it's become apparent to me that Jocelyn is quite petite.  I have never seen a height listed for her,

but it's clear in a few scenes in some of her films that she is a petite lady.  Since her mother was about 5' 2 1/2" and her father was 5' 6", my presumption is that she is probably about 5' 3" give or take an inch.  Second, Jocelyn seems much more natural on screen when she has a petulant sulk than when she smiles.  Often, it seems that her smiles are a bit forced.

As with several of Jocelyn's other films in the early 1960's, I would have probably enjoyed the film more as a young boy watching on a Saturday afternoon than as an adult.  I would put this one in the category of being worth a viewing if you're a Jocelyn fan, but don't fret if you never get around to watching this one.  You haven't missed too much.

Shot around Rome in the summer of 1962, the film premiered in Italy on November 24, 1962.  I have seen no indication of a U.S. theatrical release, but the film was shown on U.S. television through the years.

Here is a publicity photo from the set.  The back of it says, "Jackie Lane the beautiful english actress, married to a rich american business man, is actually in Rome to film in 'The thunderbolt of Assur' a biblic story, during the Babilonese period.  This morning the charming actress invited, cameramen, journalists to a lunch, in a little village near Rome, where most of the outside scenes will be turned, and hold a press-conference."  (dated July 1962)  [Note:  They appear to have confused Jocelyn with Mara, since Mara was the one married to a Texas businessman at that time.]

Here is another Italian press photo that appears to have been from the same period while working on the film (the hairstyle looks exactly the same):

A U.S. TV still:

Region 1 DVD:

An Italian two-panel poster and fotobustas:

A Belgian poster:

A French poster:

An Argentinian still:

 

I tromboni di Fra Diavolo (1962)

Italian Locandina Poster

I tromboni di Fra Diavolo is an Italian/Spanish comedy starring Italian acting legend Ugo Tognazzi.  Since I have only been able to view the film in Italian, I am reliant on the following rough translation of a plot summary that I came across in Italian:

In the Kingdom of Naples, the occupation by the French troops is raging, but they have encountered opposition and resistance from the population, led by the famous bandit Fra Diavolo (Francisco Rabal), who tries in every way to put in check the power of the French.  Some squadrons of French troops, accompanied by a small group of soldiers of the Cisalpine Republic come, commanded by Tenente Salimei (Raimondo Vianello), a marquis loyal to the Republican cause in France.  He is accompanied by Sgt. Visicato (Ugo Tognazzi), his sergeant in the military and servant in his everyday life.  After many raids that continue to undermine public order, the Col. Chamonis, commander of the French army, decides to go in search of the bandit, leaving the castle of the baron Forzano, occupied by Napoleon, in the hands of the Cisalpinos.  Here, however, lurks the love story of the film, where the Baroness Cristina Forzano (Jocelyn Lane), daughter of the owner of the fortress, falls in love with the bandit Fra Diavolo.  With the intention of getting married, the two will travel to a remote monastery in the countryside of Naples where the story concludes.

It's hard for me to really form an opinion based on an Italian language viewing with no English subtitles.  The film is shot in color, which is a bit unusual for an Italian film of the era.  Although Alberto Sordi is my favorite Italian actor, I generally like Ugo Tognazzi films of the 1960's.  He appears to be hamming it up in this film, but I don't get the sense that it would be one of my favorites.  Jocelyn gets a decent amount of screen time and prominent billing, looking lovely as usual.  Her performance seems solid.  She appears to be mouthing her lines in Italian, but I doubt that she did her own dubbing.  Even if it's not a classic Italian film of the era, it is clearly the best of Jocelyn's Italian work.  Hopefully some bi-lingual fans will make some English subtitles one day so that we can better appreciate the film.  

Here are some screen grabs of Jocelyn:

I tromboni di Fra Diavolo was shot in the early summer of 1962 (Variety was reporting in April and May that Jackie Lane was to star in the film).  It was released in Italy on October 11, 1962 (per IMDB), but I have seen no indication that it was ever released in any English-speaking country.

The film was released on DVD in Italy in 2007.

Here is a French poster:

A Belgian poster:

A Spanish poster:

 

The Cheaters: Legs, 50,000 Each (1962)

 John Ireland*

*The man on the right is John Ireland, and I think that this may be an image of him as insurance investigator John Hunter in The Cheaters.  This is the only image that I have been able to find (supposedly) from the series in general, much less Jocelyn's episode.

Not much information is available about The Cheaters.  It was a series that ran for 39 episodes on ABC television in the U.K. for two seasons between 1960 and 1962.  The main character was John Hunter (John Ireland), an insurance claims investigator. 

Hunter's voice-over lead-in to each episode said:

"These and hundreds of other legitimate claims are paid by insurance companies. Once in a while some joker comes along with an attempt to defraud. By any other name, they are still The Cheaters. That's where I come in. I'm John Hunter, investigator for the Eastern Insurance Company."

Here is the single comment about the series on IMDB:

"The Danziger Brothers had produced a lot of cheap half hour shows the previous 6 years before they made The Cheaters. In this series they stretched themselves to paying for a known "star" and although the sets were still as creaky, the pace of the shows and the excellent rapport between Ireland and his co-star Robert Ayres, gave the series a glow that was not surpassed by other shows of that period (Unless you include Danger Man as a crime show). However the budgets were perhaps too large for The Danzigers and although they made one more series, perhaps in the face of the growing empire of the Grades, the days of the independent ITV producer were over.

Sadly this show has not been shown on TV for 40 years, except on Channel TV in the 70's, which is a pity as it has been sadly neglected. TV producers ought to bring it back to life instead of repeating ad infinitum all those old movies."

Based on the above information, we can conclude that the show was about an investigator exposing insurance cheats.  Jocelyn appeared in an episode called Legs, 50,000 Each, which originally aired on April 28, 1962 (Season 2, Episode 19).  She played a character named Anita Faraday.  Here is a brief synopsis that I located for this episode:

"The Press goes wild when Anita's famed legs, which are heavilly insured, are reported broken. It looks as though 'Eastern Insurance' will have to pay up. John Hunter goes to investigate."

Here is a more detailed synopsis from a person that made an audio recording of the episodes back when they originally ran:

"As a showbiz publicity stunt, the shapely legs of Miss Anita Faraday are insured for 100,000 pounds. When she slips two days later, her right ankle has a hairline fracture, which means a huge payout by Eastern Insurance. However, her potential earnings compared with this are peanuts.

From the doctor that saw her after the accident John Hunter learns that although the Xray showed a simple hairline fracture, shadows can appear making it only appear to be broken. However, in Miss F's case there was swelling, suggesting a fracture.

Dr B.G. Mills was Eastern Insurance's new doctor who had seen Miss F before the policy had been approved. He says he saw no shadow. However Hunter becomes suspicious when he learns Mills unusually took the Xrays himself, and also developed them.

So Hunter is ordered to check it out and look at just 10,000 pounds worth of Miss F. "Don't limit me dad," Hunter shouts as he rushes off to see her, "I'm going to see the whole hundred thousand." Posing as a reporter he enjoys himself asking about her career. So will the accident affect her career? In true show biz style, she responds that her only concern is her dancing.

Backstage gossip from Phil is that Miss F is finished. 'You've got more of a career in Hollywood,' he tells John Ireland, surely tongue-in-cheek! Dropping of her film contract is apparently imminent.

Now we see Dr Mills. He's getting cold feet. The crooks force some sleeping powder on him. Then they escort Anita off to New York. She leaves, she says, with the happiest of memories, and her £100,000 of course. But here comes Hunter at the airport! He's got his proof that Dr Mills must have faked the Xrays. I didn't want to take part in the swindle, claims the pathetic Miss F."

Unfortunately, I have not been able to view this episode or locate any images from it.  It does not appear that the series has ever been released on home video.  Let's hope that one day this series will surface so that we can see more of Jocelyn at work.  It sounds like it would be worth a viewing.